Team Nobles Ready to Set Off for The Atlantic Race

After the last two weeks of preparation, the time has come for Team Noble – Kris and Blair Elliot - and they were ready to leave Tenerife today at 10:30 AM for over 3,000 nautical miles and row across the Atlantic ocean. Their adventure all the way to sunny island of Antigua in the Caribbean, where they hope to get in about 70 days’ time. Due to the severe weather the start of the race has been delayed and they hope to get started in the next few days.

RMD have been part team Noble's from Stirling journey for over 18 months. We have been supporting them, helping the team raise more money and following their preparation, progress & training for the upcoming Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge since since the summer 2016.

Paul Elliot, who is running Team Noble's PR and social media sites while they are at sea, shared with us the following update.

Saying goodbye and travelling to Tenerife

On Monday 27th November, a great deal of running around was done checking and double checking kit that was going out with them. The following day they said goodbye to their family and flew out to La Gomera. Their boat, Pendovey Swift, was in the Port Authority yard waiting to get the OK to be released to them so they spent the day meeting the other teams and sharing stories.

Maintenance and final boat checks

The first thing they tested was the Satellite Phone, a very important piece of kit. It worked one moment then stopped, a defective phone. A bit worrying so close to the start, they are sending it back to the company and have had to buy a new phone, this one does work! They have only one other slight problem which is a leak in their water maker, Justin, the boat builder is there and he is going to replace a seal that’s causing the problem. On further inspection it was decided to replace all the seals as some were perished. A good job this was identified now, this would have been a major problem so soon into the trip.

Final preparation and tranings

The following couple of days were spent at meetings and briefings. Reassessing the kit they need to take with them and removing any unwanted baggage is another task they are employed in. They are receiving a lot of advice from previous entrants and are making the most of the information gleaned. The organisers are, as you would imagine very safety conscious and every effort is made to ensure that the Teams get across safely. All their kit had to be removed and checked by the organisers and they are glad to say they passed muster. There have been various lectures on safety and how to deploy their para-anchor should the sea conditions get rough.

Almighty weather

The weather has been quite nice for working on land but the wind has been in the wrong direction for going into the water and rowing. This, they will do soon as all teams need to test and check their boats. They had a farewell party on Saturday night where Sir Chay Blyth gave them encouraging words about the attempt. You can catch these moments on their Facebook page.

The weather forecast for Team Noble's first week at sea

20-30 mph winds

2-4 metre waves

22 degrees temperature

Team Noble are very appreciative about the support everybody have all shown and hopefully this is the start of some interesting and exciting tales.

We wish Team Noble all the best for their race, good weather for next 3 months and calm seas. We will be following the team's journey and post new information on our social media. You can also find more information about the race and track the team Noble's actual location and daily progress here: https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/